The sun was shining cheerfully in direct contrast to my mood, as I waddled un-gainfully down the high street feeling tired and achy. It was the leather jacket that caught my eye with its familiar painting of a red dragon on the back. For a second my heart stopped and my blood ran cold.

An old lady walking behind me cursed when she had to swerve to avoid me. I stood blocking the pavement for a frozen moment, suspended in shock. When I had recovered a little, I glanced at her briefly in apology. I looked back straight away but you were gone. For a second I thought maybe it was my imagination playing tricks on me, (God knows I'd thought about you often enough in the last few months). But then you appeared once again like a mirage, your familiar face smiling down at a child I could only presume was your daughter, as she stood laughing next to you.

All the hurt and the anger of the last few months rose up in a hideous wave of nausea and I staggered a little, bile threatening to erupt from my throat. I reached out unsteadily to grasp the door frame of a gaudy card shop for support. A kind lady passing looked at me with a worried frown,

"Are you okay dear?" She asked with some concern. I supposed in my condition, she had every right to be concerned.

I pasted a grey smile on my ashen face and nodded firmly. I was fine, I assured her confidently, although I felt anything but fine. Avoid stress and sudden shocks, the books all said. What they didn't advise on, was how to avoid the low life bastard who had gotten you pregnant and then decided to abdicate all responsibility after conception had taken place. No, that was all my own problem and I had to deal with it.

"Hey Lucy, want a vodka?"

I spun round to see who had yelled the question at me over the throb of the music, and found myself staring at a muscular chest wearing an old AC/DC t-shirt. Two deep blue eyes twinkled down at me in amusement and my stomach lurched unexpectedly.

"Erm sorry!" I muttered idiotically, blushing slightly much to my chagrin.

"No problem..." The stranger grinned at me disarmingly and I melted helplessly into a pool of warm jelly. This guy was seriously gorgeous and I was helplessly smitten.

Suddenly, an arm grabbed my wrist and pulled me back into the throng of dancing people against my will. I lost sight of my blue-eyed god and was unexpectedly distraught for a moment, but then a cold bottle of Vodka Ice was thrust into my hand and I drank deeply. My head spun with the potent alcohol and my senses blurred in a foggy haze.

For the next couple of hours, I played 'party girl' to the hilt, chatting to people I knew and people I didn't know. I drank, laughed, danced and generally enjoyed myself. I didn't stop looking for Mr Blue eyes though and occasionally I caught brief glimpses of him across the crowded, smoky room. He knew I was watching him and he smiled whenever he caught my eye. We both knew I was interested.

At around midnight, I was stood in the kitchen on my own for the first time and wondering why I still felt relatively sober, despite all the booze. The crowd had thinned out and a few had already gone home. The music had changed to chill-out stuff and more than a few guests were heavily inebriated.

"Hey Birthday girl!" a voice whispered hypnotically in my ear.

The fine hairs on the back of my neck stood up and prickled slightly. Although I couldn't see who had spoken, I just knew it was him. He placed his hand firmly around my waist and turned me round slowly to face him. My skin burned where he touched me and my senses tingled in anticipation of... what?

I didn't know what; I just knew I wanted it.

His eyes were like deep pools of azure and I immediately dived in uncaring of the consequences. I would have stayed like that, drowning ever so slowly, but convention dictated that some kind of response was customary.

"Hi." I said. Hardly the most original reply I could have come up with, but about as good as it got under the circumstances.

With both hands on my slim waist, he stood within millimetres of my slightly trembling body. I was almost embarrassed at my animal reaction to him and he smiled knowingly at me, arrogantly sure of his obvious charms.

"Shall we go and stand by the fire - you're shivering?" he said with a faint laugh.

"No that's okay," I grinned inanely. "What's your name, I don't remember seeing you before tonight?"

"Chris." He replied. "I am a friend of Helen and Lee."

Oh, I thought hazily, vague recalling Helen saying she was bringing some friends with her.

"How does it feel being twenty one?" he asked cheekily.

"I'm not sure yet - I'll decide when I've sobered up tomorrow!"

Somebody pushed past me with a hasty apology and I was propelled forcefully into Chris's arms. The moment passed but Chris kept hold of me tightly. I could feel the staccato beat of his heart in his chest, and the hard muscles of his body pressing against the soft curves of mine. We breathed the same oxygen for several long moments, tension building, until a woman shouting above the music broke the bubble,

"Chris! We're going now, where are you?" He released me reluctantly. "Be seeing you Lucy..." he promised, before vanishing out of sight and leaving me floating on my own little cloud nine.

Almost three weeks went by and I had nearly forgotten about Chris. I say nearly — only thinking about him every second minute or so counts as nearly in my book. I had intended to ask Helen about him, but we hadn't seen each other since the party so when I got a text message from him on my way to work one Thursday, I nearly drove my car into a ditch in surprise.

Fancy a drink tonight? Chris.
How did u get my no?
I'm clever. Yes/no?
Ok. Time?
7 @ Nags Head, Lampton. Ok 4 u?
Yes, c u there :)
Cool! :)

My head was spinning and I thought of nothing else all day. No work got done and I probably made a hundred and one mistakes on the invoices. By ten to seven, I was sat in my Renault in the car park of The Nags Head pub, dressed to kill and nervous as hell.

I had had dates by the dozen, some of them had even been relatively normal — but this seemed more important to me. This was the first guy in a while I really wanted. The others were just a dress rehearsal for tonight — the main act. I knew I was pinning an awful lot on this one man, but I sensed that he was special. I just hoped it wasn't wishful thinking.

My heart thudded so loudly in my chest when he stepped out of his car, I wondered if he could hear it. He spotted me almost straight away and walked over to meet me with a huge smile.

"Hi Lucy," he grinned warmly. "I wasn't sure you would meet me..." he added cryptically.

"Why wouldn't I?" I asked puzzled. "It's not like you're married or anything is it?"

We both laughed at such a ridiculous idea and the tension dissipated. Chris took my hand and led me into the pub and we talked the evening away, oblivious to the rest of the world and his dog.

I was actually shocked to realise, when I sneaked a look at my watch later, to find that three and a half hours had passed without me even noticing. That's how quickly I was falling for him. For a brief heart-stopping minute I was scared, it all seemed to be moving too fast. But he returned from the bar with another round of drinks and dazzled me with his charm. I was soon lost again, caught up once more in the charismatic web he wove.

That first night, he left me at my car door with a chaste kiss on the cheek. I had to admit I was rather disappointed, I had been expecting a slow seduction, whereby I could enjoy the first few moments before regretfully pushing him away and escaping with my feminine pride intact. Instead I was the one left wanting more and intensely frustrated when I didn't get it.

He left it three days before he got in touch again and by then I knew he was playing a subtle game with me. I was cool and friendly, but not overly so. He asked me out once more and I told him I'd think about it and let him know.

He laughed and said, fine, he would wait for my answer. I made him wait for a further two days before I replied to say yes, I would like to see him again. It nearly killed me to do this, but I thought with amusement, two could play that game.

I tried to call Helen once, I was curious to find out more about Chris. I got no reply however and although I left a message on her answer phone, she never got back to me. I wasn't too bothered; I could find no fault with Chris so far.

He told me he worked as a self-employed Electrician; he worked hours to suit himself and he had two daughters from a previous relationship. He also told me his relationship with his ex was pretty acrimonious and they were currently fighting over access to their kids. This was the reason he gave for keeping our relationship secret for the moment.

"I can't give Cindy any more ammunition to use against me," he sighed sadly. "If she thinks I'm seeing anyone else, she'll just make my life hell," I felt so sorry for him when he told me this; it sounded like his ex was a total bitch, using his kids to hurt him.

"You know how much I like you Lucy, but I think it's better if we keep it to ourselves for now. When this crap is all sorted out, you can tell who you like about us." He looked at me seriously, cupping my face in his hands. "Are you sure that's okay? I know it's not ideal and I wouldn't blame you if you didn't want to see me any more..."

"Course its okay!" I said reassuringly. What else could I say? I supposed it didn't matter if nobody knew about us yet. My friends were certainly becoming a little curious, but as far as they knew, I was simply busy with work and this was the reason I hadn't been around so much lately. It was on the tip of my tongue to announce it to the whole world, but I respected Chris's request to keep me under wraps. I had no desire to mess things up for him — I liked him too much.

Besides, the illicit nature of our relationship added a certain spice to proceedings. We always met at remote pubs, far enough away from our respective villages to make it unlikely that we would bump into anyone we knew.

He asked me to never to ring him at home in case the kids were staying with him, as he told me he frequently looked after them after school and over night. (He didn't want them intercepting any phone calls and telling their mum). I was slightly perturbed by this, but I understood that it could cause problems if one of his kids answered the phone.

Cindy sounded like the kind of ex who would go mental if she even so much as sensed another woman sniffing around her man. Consequently, I saw him two, sometimes three evenings a week. I could live with this — I figured it was better to take things slowly anyway.

Despite my intense physical attraction to him, or maybe because of, I kept him firmly at arms length for the first few times we met. He kissed me of course, and my senses always went onto overdrive as a result; but I made sure we were in a public place and it never went beyond a kiss.

But what a kiss! His lips did things to me that no other mans ever had. My whole body felt like it was in meltdown when he touched me. But, as much as I wanted him, I wasn't going to let him think I was easy, oh no...

My good intentions finally went flying out of the window the night we went to The Spotted Ox in Upper Monkdale. It was an old, quaint pub deep in the middle of nowhere. Strange stuffed animals hung off nicotine stained walls and a huge log fire burned in a black grate, despite it being a mild June evening. We were practically the only customers in there, other than a few desiccated farmer types sat near the bar, supping pints of local brew and muttering to their sheep dogs in grumpy tones.

The land-lady was a nice woman who happily showed us a hand written menu of home cooked dishes. She seemed rather surprised to find anyone willing to sample her food and I just prayed that she hadn't killed anyone off with botulism recently. I ordered Cottage Pie and Chris chose Lamb Hot Pot.

I needn't have worried — the food was absolutely delicious and we stuffed ourselves silly in between conversation about everything under the sun. That was the thing with Chris; he was so witty and amusing, he had me in stitches and I found it hard to come up with any intelligent ripostes, as he frequently distracted me by carelessly placing his hand on my thigh or brushing his fingers across my cheek when making a point about something meaningful. He had completely bewitched me and I was utterly captivated.

It was a beautiful evening, the clear indigo sky lit up with a thousand stars. There was a full moon shining when we headed back outside and Chris suggested a walk in the rambling pub gardens before we went back to our respective homes. We talked as we walked, and he wrapped his arm round my waist while we meandered our way down an overgrown path through the inky trees.

We reached the end of the garden and stood in a small clearing with a wooden bench. The only sounds were the flowing water of a nearby stream and the rustling of small creatures in the undergrowth. That and the heavy beat of my heart, thudding painfully in my chest.

Silence reigned for a sublime moment, each of us wrapped in our own thoughts, his arm loosely draped around my waist and my face resting in the curve of his warm neck. I could smell the scent of the tangy aftershave he always wore and it ignited my senses, inciting my libido to kick in.

He lowered his face to mine and smiling faintly in the half light, he kissed me gently. At first it was a sweet kiss, a gentle exploration of my soft lips, his tongue probing the softness of my mouth. But it soon deepened now that we were away from the prying gaze of other people. I could feel my body responding to his touch, the fire creeping slowly through my veins like a narcotic, warming me from within and making my heart race faster.

I slid my arms around his neck as I turned to face him, seeking more than a kiss; my aching flesh needing his intimate touch. My breasts felt tender and my burgeoning nipples pressed through the thin bodice of my cotton dress.

Chris groaned faintly as I pressed myself into him, our mouths welded together in a heated duel.

"We need to stop now or I won't be responsible for my actions..." he muttered, breaking away from me slightly.

I knew he was right and that we both needed to cool off; but I was feeling reckless, so casting caution into the cool night air I whispered into his ear,

"Don't stop now; I need you..."

"Are you sure?" he asked, his breathing as heavy as mine.

"Yes..." I whispered, pulling him close and kissing him again hard; I'd never been so sure of anything in my life.

Gently, he slipped the thin straps of my dress off my tanned shoulders and it fell to my waist, revealing my lacy red bra. Slowly, teasingly, he cupped my breasts and rubbed his thumbs over the taut nipples, a trace of a glittering smile apparent as I groaned in response. Moonlight bathed us in a silvery glow as he released my bra and it fell unheeded to the grassy floor.

"So beautiful," he said reverently. He took a taut nipple in his mouth and sucked tenderly, kneading my sensitive flesh, making me writhe against him with desperate desire. I could feel his hardness against my belly; throbbing with a reminder of where this was leading. But I didn't care any more, I wanted him so badly it hurt.

"Last chance to say no," Chris rasped, his hand sliding up my slender thigh. There was no way on earth I could have said 'stop' then - it would have killed me. I took his hand and pushed it between my legs in a wordless reply. Breathing heavily, he pulled my sodden thong aside and moaned to find me so wet and open for him, my juices spilling over his fingers and down my trembling legs.

His fingers brushed over my clit and I pushed against his hand, clutching onto him tightly as the pleasure ramped higher. First one, then two fingers, thrust into my wet sex, fucking me slowly as he bent to take a nipple in his mouth, biting gently as punishment when I dug my nails into his neck.

I cried out in release as I came, the spasms of pleasure flooding over me in shuddering waves. Chris held me tightly, until eventually I came down from the dazzling high. I kissed him in stunned gratitude for the best orgasm I had ever experienced. He pulled me close and I was reminded that he still hadn't cum when I felt his hard erection pressing into me.

Teasingly, I reached down and rubbed his hardness through the coarse denim of his jeans. He groaned at the subtle stimulation.

"Bitch!" he scolded with a smile to show he didn't really mean it.

I laughed lightly, unzipping his jeans and pulling his hard cock from the confines of his boxers. Licking the sticky pre-cum from the swollen head, I wrapped my lips around his shaft, taking him as far into my throat as I could manage without gagging.

After a few delicious moments, he pulled me roughly to my feet and moved backwards carefully, so that he was sat down on the wooden bench behind us. I sat astride him, kissing him hard as he entered me, pushing upwards into my tight channel. It had been a while for me and I gasped at the feel of his thick cock stretching and filling me up.

The night air was cool but my skin gleamed with a light lustre of sweat. I half closed my eyes and threw my head back, revelling in the feel of him fucking me, my hands holding his neck and my breasts swaying provocatively in his face.

Hard and fast we made love, the sound of our bodies rubbing together barely audible over the water splashing nearby. I bit his lip as I came again, tasting coppery blood when my orgasm hit me hard. He lasted a few moments longer, thrusting hard into my pulsing cunt until he came too, groaning as he filled me up with bursts of hot semen.

The moon disappeared behind a cloud while we sat locked together, our skin slick with sweat and our bodies sated at last. The juices of our coupling trickled out from between my thighs in pearly trails of milk and I shivered slightly as the night air felt suddenly chilly on my cooling skin.

"I need to get home," stated Chris regretfully.

"Why?" I asked in surprise, feeling slightly hurt that he didn't want to spend the rest of the night with me.

"Sorry baby, I need to get up really early for work, and you know we won't get any sleep if I come home with you..." he chuckled.

"Oh okay." I was still hurt but I could see his point. I too had to go work in the morning and being bleary eyed and tired was unlikely to endear me to my boss.

Chris tenderly kissed me good night at my front door and sped off into the darkness leaving me happy, yet strangely unsettled. I was too tired to truly analyse my feelings and I went straight to bed, crashing out within minutes of my head hitting the pillow.

The next three months followed a pattern. He would ring or text me, arrange to see me and then either meet me somewhere, or pick me up from my house. The sex continued to be amazing, but he never spent the night with me. He always had an excuse to go home and as time went on, it began to bother me more and more. Looking back, I know I should have seen the signs — but hindsight is always a wonderful thing isn't it?

Eventually I asked him why he would never spend the night with me. We were sat languidly on the back seat of his car in a secluded car park, clothes half off and the windows steamed up with the heat of our passion, my thighs slick with cum.

"You know how it is Lucy," he murmured into my neck.

"No Chris, I don't know how it is. Tell me." I said firmly, having no intention of being fobbed off with excuses.

He stroked my arm lightly as I half lay across his lap. "I have the kids almost every night — my Mum baby-sits them if I need to go out. On the nights I don't, I couldn't take you back to mine because the neighbours would only blab to Cindy and cause me grief. You live at home so we can't go there either."

I thought about this for a moment, then said, "You could come back to mine, Mum wouldn't mind you know?" I couldn't see a lot as it was pretty dark, but I could see him frown in irritation and I felt a sudden pang of doubt in my mind.

"Look Lucy, I've explained how it is with Cindy and me. As soon as I start disappearing for nights here and there, it'll get back to her and she'll give me hell. I just don't need that shit at the moment okay?"

His tone was snappy and he moved, pushing me off his lap. I felt the panic rising and I grabbed his arm, despising my weakness even as I did it.

"I'm sorry, I do understand really. I just want to be with you properly don't you see?"

Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes as I gazed at him earnestly.

"Come on Lucy, I get enough grief from her, I really don't need it from you too. I promise we'll be together soon; you just have to be patient babe."

He kissed me softly, cupping my face tenderly, and I knew I was forgiven this time. I kissed him back hungrily, relieved that we hadn't fallen out, but annoyed with myself for backing down.